What nuts to choose on Keto?

Keto or low carb cooking and baking does require some background knowledge on ingredients used, unless you’re brave enough to blindly follow other’s people recipes and never ask yourself “What if I replace, add, take out this or that ingredient … ?”

When I started putting recipes together, I would keep browsing the Internet for nutritional information on nuts and seeds, so often used in low carb food. I used that information to decide on which type of nuts to use for a certain dessert. But browsing for nutritional stuff and comparing different types of nuts drove me nuts, so I decided to draw my own comparative table, and have it at hand at all times.

You might be asking yourself, why I don’t simply take the nuts that contain the lowest amount of carbs and stick to those. Well, it’s not that simple. Of course, different nuts have different flavours and come out differently in combination with other ingredients. Furthermore, some nuts are easily accessible, and some are not. Besides, no matter how high in carbs pistachios are, for example, I still love their taste, but I make sure I don’t consume too much.

Therefore, when baking or cooking, the final choice of nuts doesn’t only depend on net carbs. The table below does list different types of nuts, raging from least to most net carbs, but that doesn’t mean I use pecans too often. One reason being, they are not as accessible in Europe (yet) as in North America. Besides, things get even more complicated if you dig into science research that has lately given us some heads up on Polyunsaturated fats (PUFA’s) which are very unstable and apparently bad for us. Here’s some nice presentation and a good and easy read for you on this issue.

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That is why the table below also shows the amount of PUFA’s in grams per 100 grams of nuts, in the last column. Taking this information into account, no wonder why coconut can be so widely used, and macadamia so keto-popular. I’ll go for macadamia more often in my recipes, but I won’t get rid of pistachio, almonds, and such, for we all need the little enjoyments in our lives, don’t we? After all, that’s why My Sweet Keto exists.

The table shows the amounts of each macronutrient in grams per 100 grams of nuts.

Nuts

Energy

Fat

Carb

Fiber

Net Carb

Protein

PUFA’s

Pecans

691 kcal

68.6

13.9

9.6

4.3

9.2

21.6

Macadamias

718 kcal

72.4

13.8

8.6

5.2

7.9

1.5

Walnuts (English)

654 kcal

62.2

13.7

6.7

7.0

15.2

47.2

Hazelnuts

628 kcal

58.0

16.7

9.7

7.0

15.0

7.9

Coconut (dried, shredded)

660 kcal

60.7

23.7

16.3

7.4

6.9

0.7

Peanuts (not actually nuts)

567 kcal

46.2

16.1

8.5

7.6

25.8

15.6

Almonds

590 kcal

49.7

18.7

9.9

8.8

21.4

12.3

Pine Nuts (actually seeds)

673 kcal

57.7

13.1

3.7

9.4

13.7

34.1

Pistachios

562 kcal

43.1

27.5

10.3

17.2

20.3

13.7

Cashews (actually seeds)

553 kcal

39.4

30.2

3.3

26.9

18.2

7.8

Nutritional and medical disclaimer

Please note that I am not a nutritional or medical professional. I do not give out any medical advice. I only share my own experience on this blog and encourage you to consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. The nutritional information provided for my recipes are estimates. Please calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. None of the recipes I post are meant to be used by any specific clinical population. The ingredients in my recipes do not affect my glucose levels or cause any allergic reactions to me. You should use my recipes and shared experience at your discretion. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained on this website.